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Musing Mondays – Racism in YA & Reading Time

Musing Mondays is a weekly meme hosted by The Purple Booker, that asks you to choose a prompt to answer + reply to a random question.

Choose one of the following prompts to answer:

I’m currently reading…

Up next I think I’ll read…

I bought the following book(s) in the past week…

I’m super excited to tell you about (book/author/bookish-news)…

I’m really upset by (book/author/bookish-news)…

I can’t wait to get a copy of…

I wish I could read ___, but…

I blogged about ____ this past week…

I’m really upset by…

Well, you can probably guess. 😦

YA Literature has come a long way these past few years. There are more and more diverse books being published, #OwnVoices authors are getting the recognition they deserve, and minorities are being given a voice through wonderful pieces of writing and characters that represent them and their struggles.

There is still a long way to go for satisfactory representation. These books are still a very small part of the phenomenon that is YA Lit. Not only that, but they are also constantly put against books that continue to perpetuate racism, ableism, sexism, homophobia…

In 2017 alone, despite us only being in April, three YA books that make use of the dark skinned aggressor trope have been published through major publishing houses. Some of those books also promote ableist and sexist ideas. They can only be described as offensive.

I’m sure authors aren’t being intentionally prejudiced when writing their stories, but this is evidence of a huge problem in YA. It shows an incredible lack of awareness of the privilege they have and a lack of care when it comes to their audience and fans. Authors can and should do better.

THIS WEEK’S RANDOM QUESTION:

Do you have a favorite time of day to read?

Before bed! I love getting under the blankets, all cozy and warm, and pick up a good book. It’s a good way to wind down after a long day. And reading also makes me sleepy. 😛